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Funding for the Kingfish Tour
Terry Lacoss
With rising costs, competitive kingfish teams will need to tighten their money belt during the upcoming SKA tournament season, here’s how!
Angler, Jan. 2009—There has been a lot of discussion among competitive king mackerel fishermen in recent times on how to cut the rising costs of tournament king mackerel fishing. There are several remedies to this age-old problem including attracting new sponsors and determining how to budget your kingfish expenses. While this is not a new problem, especially for some of us older SKA members, the good times come with the bad times. We just have to learn how to cope with each fishing season as they frequently present new hurdles to deal with. And, remember, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. Stick with what has made your fishing team a success in the past, while making adjustments along the way.
One particular fishing team that has been able to weather the ever-changing economy, is Jeff and Nancy Dunbar and team Fish Dancer.
“We typically budget so much money each winter to compete in the Southern Kingfish Association Pro tournaments," Nancy Dunbar said. “In the past we have budgeted to stay in really nice motels, eat at fine restaurants, and also include in our budget several days of practice fishing. We simply enjoy competing in the SKA tournaments and fishing at the different kingfish destinations. Each one of these events has actually become our yearly vacations and both Jeff and I budget accordingly. This year, we may have to cut back some with the rising costs to fish the tour, particularly the rising cost of boat fuel.”
Needless to say my son Terry David and I fall into this very same category and, while last year we fished the ESPN Redfish Cup, this year we plan on fishing more of the SKA Division 5 tournaments. Quite frankly we have also missed fishing the SKA tournaments and have suddenly realized that the SKA divisional tournaments are more in line with the average competitive angler’s budget. I think a lot of king mackerel fishermen have also seen the popularity last year in the SKA one day events as well, especially when fuel prices began to reach $4.00 per gallon. While Fernandina Beach, Florida’s NSFA Tournament of Champions Kingfish Tournament was a two-day tournament, the number of entries was close to 135 paid kingfish teams. Nearby St. Mary’s, Georgia Kingfish tournament was a one-day tournament and actually drew 175 paid teams and had about the same amount of tournament boats during the 2008 event as they did during the previous year.
Also gone are the days for several kingfish teams where they limit their team to two team members on the boat during any one given kingfish tournament. More and more teams are actually adding team members to help share in the rising costs to compete in king mackerel fishing tournaments. Unless you have a real kingfish honey hole where you can guarantee that you will place in the money, having more than three fishing team members on the boat makes sound financial sense. There are just too many skilled SKA tournament teams that also have the same idea in mind—taking home all of the 1st place monies.
Here is the key, there are plenty of good fishermen out there that simply do not wish to own their own kingfish boat, but would love to share the expenses. Keep in mind that it is a lot cheaper to fish on someone else’s boat occasionally and pay the expenses and oftentimes, the entire entry fee and more!
Being a charter captain and in an area where SKA kingfish tournaments are extremely popular, I have frequent calls before the tournament season gets underway by fishermen who wish to charter my boat for an upcoming kingfish tournament. This is always a sound plan for my charter services, because not only do I get a chance to compete in an SKA-sanctioned kingfish tournament, it doesn’t cost me a single penny and I get my charter rate at the same time. And in many cases I will also get my fair share of the winnings, too.
The only drawback to chartering your boat during a highly competitive SKA kingfish tournament, you are laying all of your trust on fishermen that may have never caught a king mackerel during their entire fishing career! Once a giant, money-winning kingfish takes a getaway route to open seas, you watch in horror as the green angler whips the rod up and down with slack line, then when the fishing line tightens, give the hooked king a whopper of a hook-set!
Obviously if the economy does not rebound by the beginning of the 2009 SKA tournament season, kingfish teams will be looking at several other options when competing for kingfish dollars and prizes. While I guess the big question that will be asked time and time again by mackerel fishermen is the cost of fuel. Last summer gas rose to over $4.00 per gallon at many kingfish ports. Right now the price of fuel has dropped to a more affordably $1.87 per gallon at my homeport of Amelia Island, Florida.
Most king mackerel fishermen are guessing that fuel costs will rise again during the summer fishing season when the demand for fuel goes back up once more.
Fortunately the new outboard engines, particularly Mercury’s 4-stroke Verado’s and Opti-Max outboards are getting better fuel economy each year.
One point of matter that should be included in your upcoming budget for the new kingfish season, is having on board a fuel monitoring system where you can tell exactly how much fuel you are presently burning. FloScan has a series of gauges that hook up to your fuel lines that indicate exactly how many gallons per hour that you are burning for each outboard and more importantly, how many gallons you have already burned. Mercury Marine and other marine outboard companies also have electronics that also give you this same valuable information.
One thing I have learned by watching my FloScan gauges carefully, is by adjusting the rpm’s and the trim of the outboards, I am able to get the best fuel economy. This may involve dropping back on the throttles just a few hundred rpm’s, or trimming the motors up just a notch.
You may also consider filling your fuel cells with just enough fuel to fish that one particular tournament day. You won’t need 400 gallons of fuel on board if you only plan to kingfish ten miles from the checkout point. Fuel weighs seven pounds per gallon, which adds up to several hundred extra pounds in weight. I have actually seen where my kingfish boat will run up to five miles faster when the fuel tank is just half full.
Testing out different pitch propellers will also allow you and your fishing team to save those valuable fuel dollars. You may wish to use four blade propellers when the seas are bumpy and three blade propellers when the seas are calm and you have a long run scheduled.
Finally, sponsorship for kingfish teams may be cut back with the present economy. My advice here is to stick it out with your present sponsors. While some boat manufacturers have closed their doors during recent times, others have limited their days of production. When times improve, your present sponsors will once again share the good times with your fishing team.
Instead of looking for a new sponsor, simply work harder to promote your present sponsor. Think up ways to promote your sponsors in besides just having their logos on your tournament fishing shirts. For example, if you have your sponsor’s logo on your shirt, truck, or boat, have their website address included as well. This way, prospective customers will have a way to contact that particular company right away. Also, bring along brochures to hand out.
If you don’t have a sponsor, visit your local marine dealer and work directly with your dealer in securing a sponsor’s product. Keep your local marine dealer up to speed as to how well your fishing team is competing during the SKA kingfish season with photos and news releases. Dealers will then post these results and pictures at their local dealership and, more importantly, pass them on to your major sponsors.
Remember, it is always best for someone else, more importantly a marine related dealer, to talk to your major sponsors on how they will benefit by your fishing team using their products. I always recommend not to pick up the phone and call sponsors direct when trying to secure any level of sponsorship. Always keep your boat and equipment clean for the public to see and take pictures of your catches with sponsor products in the background.
Remember, competitive king mackerel fishing is the largest saltwater sport in the country while generating a huge business in marine and sport fishing sales. Your fishing team is their best promoter and, oftentimes, the way that you promote their products determines their ultimate success.
